Prepayment attachment for electric meters.



N9. 728,531. PATENTED MAY 19; 1903. T. L. ARNOLD & P. B. BROWN.

PREPAYMBNT ATTACHMENT FOR ELECTRIC METERS,-

APPLIOATION FILEIj JULY 21, 1902.

10 MODEL.

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' ATTORNEY INE- NORRIS Prrins c0. PMOTDUTHQ, WASHINGTON, n. c.

No.72s,531.

UNITED STATES" PATENT OFFICE;

THERON L. ARNOLD AND FRANK E. BROWN, or THREE RIVERS, MICHIGAN.

I PlRE- F 'AYM ENTATTACHMENT FOR ELE TRIe YMYIETERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Pat nt No. 728,531, dated Ma 19', 1903.

Application filed July 21,1902.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known. that we, THERON L. ARNOLD and FRANK E. BROWN, citizens of the United States, and residents of Three Rivers, in the county of St. Joseph, State of Michigan, have jointly invented new and useful Improvementsin Prepaying Attachments'for Electric Meters, of which the following isa specification.

The object of this invention is to construct the improvements hereinafter described and claimed in an apparatus for attachment to and use in connection with any registering-meter which measures electrical current, whereby electric-light consumers are compelled to prepay into the apparatus the cost of the'light for a greater or less period, optional with them, before the electric current which produces the light is supplied and said supply ceasing at the instant they have consumed all the electricity they have paid for unless they make further payment before the light fails to burn.

The construction and manipulation of our prepaying attachment is such that a visible registerof the amount of electric current being used is made, so that the users of electric lights by looking at a dial provided for the purpose may know exactly how they stand, and thus be warned when to make-further payment to prevent a failure at any time of the lights burning.

In the drawings forming a part of this specification, Figure l isa front elevation of our prepaying attachment and also a front elevation of an ordinary electric meter formeasuring the current and to which our invention is designed as an attachment. Fig. 2 is the same, the front wall of our attachment being removed and a portion of the meter being broken away and a portion of its front wall removed; Fig. 3, an enlarged section in Fig. 2 on dotted line it h, looking from a point at the right; Fig. 4, a sectional elevation, enlarged, on dottedline c e in Fig. 5, looking from a point at the left, certain parts being broken; and Fig. 4 is also a section in part on dotted lines e c in Fig. 1 and s sin Fig. 2, looking froma point at the right; Fig. 5, a sectional elevation on dotted line a a in Fig. 4, looking from a point at the right and showing the gears in dotted lines; Fig. 6, an en- Serial No. 115.419, ore millet.)

larged broken portionoffthe clutch-gears in Fig. 4, their shaft being in section on dotted line 0) '0, looking from a point at theleft;,

Fig. 7, an enlarged broken view of the escapement-w'heel in Fig. 4 with its shaftlin section on dotted line to w, looking from a point at the left; Fig. 8, an enlarged vertical section of'the escapement-wheel and escapement in Figs. 4 and 5, the view being taken onidotted linez z in Fig.5, Iookingfrom a point at the right, and ou line in Fig. 7; and Fig. 9 is a sect-ionon dotted'line i t' in Fig. 4, looking from above, and on'sectional line 0 o in Fig. 8,.looking from above,

Referring to the parts of the drawings pointed out by'numerals, 12 shows the ordinary meter in common use for measuring electric current; Theiroperatio'h iswell understood and needs no lengthy description. Suffice it to say that the circuit-Wires l3 and ratentea May 19, 1903.

14 carry the electric current from the main 7 into and out of the meter 12 in Fig. l and that the registering-hands of the dials are operated by said current in the regular way,

transmitting the register of the unit-dial l5 onto the other dials 16 in the increasing scale.

Our prepaying attachment or its apparatus is containedjn a metal case 17, Fig. 1, designed for attachment to the wall of a room in some convenient location. The case is provided with a door 18. 7 It may have a lock of a private nature and the collector do the collecting at stated intervals. The hand of the dial 15 is removed from its shaft 19 or journal, and a disk 20, of fiber or suitable insulating material and provided with a hub21, is fitted on said journal 19. This is shown in Fig. 2, the meter portion of which is enlarged from Fig. 1 and a portion of the front wall removed, disclosing the disk 20 in place, On the hub 21. is a thimble. 22, made of copper or other conducting material, and is behind the disk 20. A circuit-terminal 23, of like conducting material as the thimble and attached to the same integrally or otherwise, extends radially from the hub 21 in the rear of the disk 20 and passes through it and projecting a little beyond its front face, as in Fig; 3. A little .removed from the end of this circuitterminal 23, toward the periphery of the disk 20, is a pin 24, projecting outward like the ICC end of the circuit-terminal 23. Three circuitwires enter the case of this meter at the upper right-hand side, Figs. 1 and 2, and constituting terminals 25, 26, and 27, which are delicately elastic. The upper terminal 25 first contacts with the pin 24 and when the disk revolves snaps 01f into contact with the circuit-terminal 23, closing the electric circuit with the terminal 26, and a like action takes place in relation to the circuit-terminal 27 when the disk 20 revolves thus far. The purpose is to make a quick break of the circuit and prevent sparks burning the terminals 25 and 27. The circuit-terminal 26 rests on the thimble 22 in a manner similar to brushwires in electrical apparatuses. The disk 20 is of course revolved the same as would have been the disk 15 or what is termed the register unit-dial on shaft 19. Hence twice in its revolution the terminal 23 contacts to close circuit. The operation of the invention causes a register by the hand 30 on the dial 28 of the electric current which is being consumed by the lights at 29.

Through the front wall of the case 17, Fig. 1, is a slot 31, into which to insert dimes, a slot 32 for quarter-dollars, and a slot 33 for half-dollars. They are of a correct size for the purpose, and the proper piece of money must go in its proper slot, thus fixing the starting-point of the carrier according to theamount of money paid in, from which point the coin-carrier is swung, with its particular piece of coin, to a given place 35 in Fig. 5 for delivering the coin off from the end of the curved floor 41, when said coin falls to the bottom of the case 17, likely in some receptacle placed there to receive it. This movement of the coin-carrier 34 causes the weight 36 to rise a distance according to the amount of payment, since the after-lowering of said weigh-t operates the circnitunaker 37, Figs. 2, 4, and 5, to stop the supply of the electric current. This will be further explained and finally made definite and clear in the description of the operation. Within the case 17 and in proper position for these slots 31, 32, and 33 is the coin-carrier 34, hung on a journal 38, and also attached to the back plate 43 by brackets 105and 106, Figs. 4 and 5. The journal is supposed to have bearings in the front wall of the case 17, and to this end of said journal, outside of the wall of said case, is attached the thumb-wheel 51. The right-hand end of said journal 38 is loosely passed onto the end of the journal 40, which projects through the wall 60, the opposite end of the journal 40 having bearings in the wall 50, Fig. 4. It maybe here stated that rest of the journals bearing-gears hereinafter referred to have hearings or supports in said walls and 30, the latter wall being dot-tedin Fig. 5. The coin-carrier 34 is of a size to receive the coins edgewise and to retain them in said position until they are delivered off from the end of the curved floor 41 at 35 from out the open bottom of said coin-carrier, Fig. 5. This curved floor 41 is attached to the inside of the front wall of the case 17 by a bracket 42 and serves to retain the coin in the coin-carrier 34 until delivered off its end at 35, as explained. The coin-carrier being attached to the back plate 43 and said plate being attached to the journal 38, said back plate when the journal is revolved swings between the inner face of the front wall of the case 17 and the contiguous edge of the curved floor 41. During this operation the coin-carrier 34 of course swings, and the peculiar construction holds and steadies said carrier and forms a good guide to its movements.

In Fig. 4 the side wall of the coin-carrier 34 is broken away and discloses an interlocking lever 46 for engaging with the teeth 44 of the wheel 45 on shaft 40. In the coin-carrier 34 is also pivoted a push-lever 47, held swung back in its normal position by a spring 48. Attached to the interlocking lever 46 is a controlling spring 49, resting against the push-lever 47.

In Fig. 4 is shown a dotted coin 61, which has been passed into the case 17 through one of the slots 31, 32, or 33, according to the value of said coin. Said coin of course passed into the coin-carrier, which had been swung to the proper position to register with the particular slot. It should have been stated that a slot made through the back plate 43 registers with the open edge or mouth of the coincarrier 34 and by turning the thumb-wheel 51 is made to register with the slots 31, 32, and 33 in the front wall of case 17. This will appear clear when it is understood that the edge of the coin-carrier 34 which is open and styled the mouth fits against the back plate at the point where the slot through the back plate is located. The coin 61, referred to, having been inserted, as stated, the coincarrier, by means of thumb wheel 51, is swung toward the right in Fig. 5 until the coin drops out at 35. When the coin 61 was inserted, it pushed out on the push-lever47, and this in turn, through the spring 49, pushed out on the interlocking lever 46. The lower end 52 of the former, Figs. 4 and 5, when the coin-carrier was rotated or swung to deposit the coin at 35, pushed the slidebar 53, which in turn operated the swinging member 62 of the circuit-maker 37, bringing the surfaces (58 into contact, thus closing the circuit and establishing a supply of electric current to the lights 29, Fig. 1. During this action the lower end of the interlocking lever 46 engaged the teeth 44 of the wheel 45, and when the coin-carrier 34 was swung to deliver the coin at 35 the wheel 45 was re volved'and also the windlass 54 through the gears 55 on shaft 40, 56 on shaft 83, 57 on shaft 84, 58 on shaft 84, and 59 on shaft 85, said windlass being on the latter-named shaft, and the cord 107 was wound up on its windlass, carrying up the weight 36 a given distance in accordance with the movement of the coin-carrier 34. The swinging member section.

62 of the circuit-maker 37 is pivoted at 63, Fig. 5, and when it was swung to bring this member against the fixed member 64 the projection 103 was disengaged from the nose 108 of the pivoted dog 65, bringing said nose against the endof the projection 103 and holding the members of the circuit-maker in contact to keep up the electric supply to the lights 29. The dog 65 is held to the position shown in Fig.5 with its nose engaging the projection and holding the members of the circuit-maker apart, the circuit thus being broken by the spring 66, attached to the pivot of the dog and bearing against its side, as in Fig. 5.

lhe lowerends of the members of the circuit-maker 37 have conducting material 68 on their inner faces, from which lateral projections extend at 69, there being insulating material 70 between the inner and outer conducting material. The swinging "member of the circuit-maker in Fig. 5 is on a vertical The magnets 71 and 72 are shown near to and a little below the toothed wheel 45 in Fig. 2. Above them is an armature 73, pivoted centrally on shaft 74. Attached to the armature are two brushes 75 and 76, the bar 77, connecting said brushes, being separated from the armature by the insulation 78. The contact-posts for the brushes are shown at 79 a and 80, Figs. 2 and 4. Rigidly attached to the shaft 74 isthe downward extension of the escapemen t-operator 81,which oscillates when the armature 73 teeters up and down on its pivot. This escapernent 82 is pivoted at 86, Figs. 4 and 5, and when it is oscillated on its pivot first one end goes between the teeth of the escapement-wheel 87 and then the other end. The escapement is shown broken away in Fig. 5, and the escapement-wheel 87 in this figure is shown dotted in. The upper end of the escapementoperator 81 is provided with an oblique slot 88, (especially shown in Figs. 8 and 9,) into which slot the lower end of the escapement 82 is looselyinserted, by which means when the 'armature 73 teeters and the escapement-operator oscillates the weight 36 is allowed to lower or run down. After the weight has been Wound up by turning the thumb-wheel 51 and through the means before explained it is necessary that it shall not abnormally lower again, which it might do by its own weight. To this end the gear 56 has attached to it a clutch-gear 90, and these two gears are loosely mounted on the shaft 83 in order that they will revolve on it when winding up the weight 36 and be prevented from revolving by the following means in the opposite direction: A dog 91, spring-controlled, is attached to gear 92, said gear being rigidly attached to its revoluble shaft 83. The dog 91, Fig. 6, engages the teeth of the gear 90. By this means when the armature through the escapement frees the escapement-wheel 87, Figs. 4, 7, and 8, the shaft 83 and its gears 56, 90, and 92 allrevolve in said opposite direction, allowing the Windlass 54 to unwind its cord 61 and lower the weight 36. When said weight is lowered onto the pan 93, the latter tilts down, swinging the upright lever 94, which is attached to the pan-shaft 95, against the dog 65, which action releases the swinging member 62 of the circuit-maker 37, breaking the circuit and putting out the lights. This lever 94 is shown broken in Fig. 4. It is desired that there be no slight motion or an abnormal vibration to the escapement-wheel 87 and toy prevent this we have provided adog 96, Figs. 4 and "6, having two downward prongs at the free end to engage the teeth of the gear 92, said dog being mounted pivotally on the shaft 97 and held to action by the spring 98 on shaft 97, Fig. 4, and it will yield from engagement with the gear 92 when the weight 36 is running down.

The three electric circuits in use in carrying into eflfect our invention are traced as follows: The lights 29 and also the old mechanism in the meter 12 are supplied with the current over wire 13 from the mains or supply, said wire 13 being shown as entering the meter 12 at the lower left-hand corner of Fig. 1,

from thence out at the lower right-hand corner of meter 12 and on into the case 17 of our prepaying attachment, through the circuit-maker 37, on over wire 13 to lights 29,

thence back over wire 14 to the electric sup-,

ply. The circuit the current of which operates to pull down the right-hand end of the armature 73, and thus tilt the escapement 82 and allow the escapement-wheel to jog and let the weight 36 lower, is over the circuitterminal 25 within the meter 12, thence out 101, circuit-terminal 26, thimble 22, circuitterminal 23, to circuit-terminal 25, the point of starting. The circuit the current of which causes the other end of the armature 73 to fall and to act in the same manner on the escapement 82 is over circuit-terminal 27 in the old meter 12, out-over wire 102 into the case 17, and on over wire 102 to magnet 71, thence over wire 102 to contact-post 80, thence over electric brush 76, wire 100, through circuit-maker 37, and on over wire 13 to the lights 29 and back over wires 14 101, circuitterminal 26, thimble 22, circuit-terminal 27,

open, as in Fig. 5, the angled end 52 of the,

push-lever 47 will movethe sliding bar 53 v and close the circuit-maker, and thus furnish electric current to the lights. If the circuitmaker had been closed, payment could be made in advance, if desired. As before stated in the description, when the circuit-maker is closed by the action of the sliding bar 53 the projection 103 is drawn away from beneath the nose 108 of the dog and the spring 66 tilts the body of the dog a little to the left, which tilts the nose 108 down where the end of its nose abuts against the end of the projecion 103 and locks or holds the circuit closed until the dog 65 is again tripped by the action of the lever 94 when the weight has again tilted the pan 93. When the later action takes place, the nose 103 is raised and the member 62 swings to the left, carrying its projection 103 beneath the nose 108, the latter of which is held in contact with said projection 103 by the tension of the spring 66, thus holding the member 62 in this position until the sliding bar 53 is again operated by the rotation of the coin-carrier. Since the insertion of the coin 61 caused the lower end of the interlocking lever 46 to engage the teeth 4 of the wheel 45, it follows that when the coin-carrier was oscillated to deliver the coin at 35 the Windlass wound up the cord 107 and raised the weight such a distance as corresponded with the amount of current paid for-that is, the same distance as the consumption of said amount of current would lower said weight. It is of course understood that the action of the current on the old meter 12 is the same as prior to the attachment of ourinvention in making the register on dials 16; but no visible register can appear on the dial 15 removed, the disk 20 now revolving as was said disk 15. Whenever contact of circuit-terminals 23 and 25 takes place, the magnet 72 is energized and draws down its end of the armature 73, thus operating the escapement 82 and lowering the weight a little. When contact of the circuit-terminals, as the disk 20 keeps revolving, (marked 23 and 27,) takes place, the magnet 71 is energized-and draws down its end of the armature 73, the other end of said armature rising, and again the escapemeut 82 operates and the weight lowers a little, and so on until the weight 36 tilts the pan 93 and closes the circuit-maker 37, shutting off the lights, as before explained. The consumerneed not wait until the lights go out, but may keep paying in coins now and then, since the dial 28 registers how he stands.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Let ters Patent of the United States of America,

1. In a prepaying attachment for electric meters, the coin-ca rrier adapted to be rotated or swung, a pivoted spring-controlled pushlever therein adapted to be pushed out by the insertion of a coin, suitable circuits, a circuit-maker consisting of a fixed member, and a swinging member, the latter being provided with a projection, a pivoted springactuated dog provided with the nose for 00- acting with the projection of the swinging member, the sliding bar adapted to be forced against the swinging member to close the circuit, the pan pendent from a pivotal shaft, an upright lever mounted on said shaft for tripping the dog, and a weight adapted to lower as the electricity is consumed, and to finally tilt the pan when the electric light paid for has been used, all combined, substantially as set forth.

2. In a prepaying attachment for electric meters, the coin-carrier adapted to be rotated or swung, the pivoted spring-controlled interlocking lever therein adapted to be pushed out by the insertion of the coin, a toothed wheel in position to be engaged by the end of the interlocking lever when thus pushed out, and to be revolved when the coin-carrier is swung, a Windlass, cord, and weight, connecting shafts and gears, and clutch-gears between the toothed wheel and Windlass, the escapement-operator adapted to be swung by the tilting of the armature and being provided in the upper end with the oblique slot, the escapement-wheel on the shaft of the clutohgears,the escapement the ends of which are adapted to play in and out between the cogs of the escapement-wheel and its lower end being extended loose in the slot of the escapement-operator, and electrically-operated means for operating the escapement-operator, all combined, whereby the weight is raised and permitted to lower by the independently-acting but connected mechanism, substantially as set forth.

In testimony of the foregoing we have hereunto set our hands in the presence of two witnesses.

THERON L. ARNOLD. FRANK E. BROWN. Witnesses:

HENRY D. ARNOLD, ARTHUR D. AVERY. 

